MEL-Con:

1. MEL-Con: Changing students’ writing one paragraph at a time

2. Tuesday, September 1, 2009 • Objectives: • Explain the basic format of MEL-Con paragraphs • View student-authored MEL-Con paragraphs • Discuss how to use MEL-Con in different disciplines

3. Introduction • What the heck is MEL-Con? • Why should I care about MEL-Con? • What happens if I REFUSE to use MEL-Con?

4. The Building Blocks of MEL-Con • M = Main Idea (Topic Sentence) • E = Evidence (Support/Examples/Proof) • L = Link (Explains how support proves main idea) I • Con = Concluding sentence (summarizes main idea and evidence)

5. Writing Main Ideas • What is a main idea? • First sentence of paragraph (topic sentence) • Answer the question or respond to the prompt. • Prompt: Should high school students have to write MEL-Con paragraphs? • Main Idea: • High school students should have to write MEL-Con paragraphs. OR • High school students should not have to write MEL-Con paragraphs.

6. Writing Transitions and Evidence • Transitions: • Each piece of evidence should begin with a transition • Something that connects one piece of information to another • Introduces new information • 3 Types of Transitions: • Beginner (NOOOOOOOO) • Intermediate (Yes!) • Advanced (WOW!!)

7. Evidence • Evidence: • Something to support main idea • Evidence (Support/Examples/Proof/Direct Quote) • At least three pieces of evidence per paragraph • When quoting text, you must cite it properly! • Quote intro, “Actual Quote” (Author’s Last Name/ Page number). • Example: • Additionally, Jodee felt that her parents did not understand her. This was clear when she stated that “[her] parents didn’t understand what they were doing to [her]. Though they meant well, [she] felt betrayed” (Blanco 74).

8. High school students should have to write MEL-Con paragraphs.To begin, writing MEL-Con paragraphs helps students organize and focus their ideas.

9. Writing Links • You must have a link for each piece of evidence • Links must fully explain how evidence proves the main idea • One link is always at least 2 sentences • Sentence one should further explain the example or provide more specific details. • Sentence two should explain how the evidence supports or proves the main idea. • How many links will you have in one paragraph if you must have 3 pieces of evidence? • How many sentences?

10. High school students should have to write MEL-Con paragraphs.To begin, writing MEL-Con paragraphs helps students organize and focus their ideas. By using the MEL-Con format, students will use specific examples to support their argument and will be less likely to diverge from their main idea. By focusing their argument, students will effectively communicate their position, which is an important component of all writing.

11. Writing Concluding Sentences • The final part of your perfect body paragraph • Should restate the main idea in a different way and include a summary of the evidence. • One sentence long Because writing MEL-Con paragraphs helps students maintain focus,…it is necessary for all freshman to use this writing format.

12. At least how many sentences should be in a basic MEL-Con Paragraph?

13. Sample Mel-Con • Underline the main idea • Place a star next to the evidence • Place a box around links • Circle transitions • Draw a squiggly line under the concluding sentence